3 A.M. Can't sleep...

Well, here I am, at 3 in the morning blogging. Goofy, huh? I laid down with Marsha about ten intending to get back up when she went to sleep to do a few Christmas related things. One must sneak, you know, to get it all done. Well, I fell asleep and just woke up. I'm not going to do any sneaking. Not now. I got time. Christmas won't be here for...wow, it's almost here, eh? How cool is that? I really love Christmas! I've been somewhat Christmasy, but today and yesterday it's really has hit me. The last couple of days, me and my baby girls went out twice to shop for mommy. Just awesome!! They are the coolest little people...can't even describe it. So funny, so insightful. Being with the two of them just makes things fun. It was especially fun because we were doing something for the person all three of us love the most...their mommy, my sweet little wife. It was a bit of a risk, I know. I knew it going in. I knew Haley, the older one, wouldn't give away a secret. But, the younger, Taylor...who knows with her? She may well tell her mommy what we got her for Christmas. We've had several very serious conversation about the importance of..who am I kidding? How serious and meaningful can that conversation be with a three year old? Good giref! She almost have something away at lunch today. We were sitting around together eating grilled cheese I made (oh, yeah, I make a great grilled cheese...it's tougher and more involved than it sounds...) and she first tells her mommy she won't say a thing, then turns around and lets half of something slip out! Then she looks at me with that little mischievous grin of hers...silly kid. What's she trying to do, ruin the whole balance of things? Man...
By the way, my wife spent her day doing something I think is great. She spent nearly twelve solid hours baking, and putting together Christmas gift baskets for our families. Money is a little tighter for us, like everyone, this year so she is giving something truly personal and from the heart this year. She has made loaf after loaf of sourdough, and Amish cinnamon bread; peanut butter rolss, peanut butter balls, chocolate covered pretzels, and some other goodies. She has really worked hard and the baskets look so pretty. I'm very proud of what she has done. She's the best.
Gotta run...getting a bit sleepy.

Christmas Play, etc...

We had our local church Christmas play yesterday evening. Things really went well. First, yesterday morining we had a nice service, with Christmas carols, and I read the Christmas story. I always love to tell that story. Earlier in the month I took us through the foundational parts of the story. I started with some Old Testament prophecies, than went into the parallels in the lives of Zacharias, Elisabeth, and Joseph and Mary. They each had their encounters with angels acting as God's messengers. They each had either fears, or concerns which were put to rest by the angels encouragement. I love the part of the story where Mary visits Elisabeth and the Holy Ghost moves. In the Spirit, John recognized Jesus. Such a beautiful story. Anyways, we finished off with each one in attendance (those who wanted to) sharing a special Christmas memory, or something that makes this time special to them. It is always really neat to hear peoples different perspectives about Christmas and family. It was one of those things that is possible when you have a smaller congregation.
So, last night we held the Christmas program. It is one we got from a Sister in the church down in Alabama, Sister Washburn. It was really good. Since we are so small, we have to find something that can be done with a few people. Counting me (narrator) and the director, we had six people. That is our entire congregation!!! So when we plan something like this we invite EVERYBODY!! We have this fear of putting on a program for ourselves. Poor Brother Junior stands the chance of being the whole audience! Fortunately God blesses us every year with a good crowd. Our families kick in. We were a little disappointed, honestly that neither mine nor Marsha's family were with us. They had other plans, either at their own churches, or otherwise. That's still hard for us to swallow at times. But our church family is so good, so that helps. We had twenty-four in attendance! That equalled our attendance record! Brother and Sister Hargraves came up from Corbin mission, and Sister Betty Fowler and her son Jonothan came down from Greenup. That along with a bunch from the Lane family, and we had our crowd! Thank God!
Something we work hard at in our little church is not getting a cae of "small-church-itus". That is where you always say "We just can't do _________ because we are just too small." Our people are gamers. We just go ahead and find a way to do it! God always provides what we need.

Tired...so much for a day off

It's been cold and messy around here today, so I didn't get out and circulate much. I did go out to get some supplies for my bathroom project. I'm repainting and helping redecorate our bathroom. Trying to get it done before the Risch's come for New Year's.When I got home, I ate some lunch at the in-laws, then ate most of a can of Royal Dansk butter cookies with the girls. Then I took a nap. By that time it was past four o'clock, so I thought it would be a great time to start prepping to paint!! Woohoo!! I actually got a lot done. I've trimmed and rolled on two good coats. The next couple of days I'll fill holes and cracks and do some other minor repairs before putting on the final coat and adding a fresh coat of semi-gloss white to the woodwork. Then I have to put all the towel holders, and mirrors, etc back in place. We've already bought pretty much everything we need other than a new curtain for the window, and a new rod for the shower curtain. After that I'm gonna clean the tile and color seal the grout. It's gonna be real nice.
Next project is Haley's room.
Anyways, I'm pretty tired, and think I'll probably hit the hay pretty soon.

Winter Storm

Well, yesterday was another twelve plus hour work day. I don't mind the work. I've discovered that I'm actually something of a work-a-holic. When I have days off where I don't do anything at all, my nerves really get raw by end of the day. It's crazy. As a day off approaches, I'll keep telling my wife, I don't want to do a thing all day long. Then if I try that I get in the worst mood! I have to do something! That's not a bad thing. I'm not lazy. That's good, right? I need to remember how to relax, though.
My weight is up again, and with my back and ankle problems, these long days are getting to me a bit more than they used to. Plus I turned thirty-four last week. Old, right? Not really. I'd say I feel old, but how would I know how that feels. I take each birthday as a great blessing. Turniong thirty four means I didn't die at thirty three! I'm thirty four, I've been married to my dream girl for nearly twelve years. I have these two amazing daughters who are eight and three. I have been blessed to work for God as a minister for over ten years. I have some great friends. All in all, I'd say I'm pretty blessed. Everything has not happened like I thought it would, but it has happened right, I think. God is good to us. He gets better all the time!
So anyway, there is a winter storm "event" going on here. That's what the weather man calls it. An event. Some ice, some snow, some freezing rain. Don't even ask me what the difference is between ice and freezing rain. Once it hits the ground, I think it's pretty much the same. I'm gonna get out in my big 4x4 later and slide around. But don't be fooled. The thing can climb our hill fine, but on the main roads at thirty or fourty miles per hour, the black ice doesn't care how many wheels you have. But at least I know I won't get stuck!

Good Things Happening in the Eastern KY District

So our district is blessed! We have had some exciting things brewing for a while now, and I have been working so much that I haven't blogged in ages. But here I am to tell about it all! Here is the update...
In Elizabethtown this morning a young woman who had been in backslidden condition for a number of years (since the late 90's, I think) came back to God. According to my source she same up for prayer and before long was weeping...God saved her, sanctified her, and filled her with the Holy Ghost right there! I know her family is overjoyed, as is she!
In Corbin at the mission this morning there were nine in attendance including a first time visitor. Thank God! We held a short revival there last week and Heaven opened up! It was awesome! In Winchester this morning we had ten, including my dear mother, who hasn't been able to attend recently because she has been working a lot of Sundays. Thank God she was able to make it today.
We went up to the Greenup church today for their Christmas program. It was great, and they beat their attendance record of 24, with thirty in attendance today! God is good!
The biggest news is that we had a new church organized today in Somerset, KY!! Praise God!! Brother Herman Hamilton and some others, ten in all, came into the church and our Overseer Brother Jernigan organized them today! Thank God for his wonderful blessings!
We expect many more things to develop in our whole region, as well as the Eastern KY District! God is moving for us! Thank God!!!

In other news, Brother Terry and Sister Sam Flora welcomed their second grandson into the world last week. He is a beautiful baby boy. He and his mom are healthy and doing great.
We are finalizing preparations for our local Christmas program in Winchester, KY. God is helping us and everything is coming together perfectly.